Salzburg Streets   

Salzburg is famous for two things, the salt that was once mined from around the city and the very old and stunningly pretty city centre. The city centre is still preserved with the old road surfaces, which provides cobblers with a perfect opportunity to impress the cycling world with their abilities on the often very slippery cobbles.

The race begins on the cobbles of the main square, the location of the finishing l...

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Salzburg is famous for two things, the salt that was once mined from around the city and the very old and stunningly pretty city centre. The city centre is still preserved with the old road surfaces, which provides cobblers with a perfect opportunity to impress the cycling world with their abilities on the often very slippery cobbles.

The race begins on the cobbles of the main square, the location of the finishing line just over an hour later. Their first objective is the Monchsberg via the old cobbled road leading past the abbey. An early breakaway will form on the short ascent up to the castle and an eager favourite may also try to attack on the very steep section leading up into the walls of the castle itself. The descent is far easier and the cobbles will stop for the meantime. The newer area of Salzburg hosts the race for only a short while before they turn back towards the Gaisberg. They never reach the top of the short climb, instead taking the lower path that reaches the ridge below the Gaisberg. The descent takes them down onto the main road before crossing back over the river on the Makartsteg and completing a short circuit which will take them to Staats Brucke where they will cycle along the Giselakai until they cross the river for the final time at the Karolinen Brucke. The race will be 35 km old and as the halfway mark approaches the race will begin to come back together again as the teams of the sprinters cooperate to bring back the breakaway. They will cycle along the wide Rudolfskai before entering the oldest area of the city for two and a half laps of a 17.2 km circuit through narrow streets and old cobbled roads. The circuit takes the riders along the Mozart Street until they reach the Herrengasse where they will turn right. The race continues along to the old residence and through many squares including the finishing square of the St Peter Dom. To complete the circuit they will ride on to the Munzgasse, onto the Gstattengasse and then a very sharp right turn back onto the Rudolfskai, where they will ride back down the river to the Mozart Strasse. It is quite a technical race with many sharp bends and the last 40km are all on cobbles. They race through six squares which will split the field, already stretched by the speed. The narrow arched gateways are also tricky and a rider can easily collide with the walls either side.

At the end of the second complete lap, the riders will race into the square underneath the Dom and the sprint will conclude on the cobbled square. To win the race, the leadout needs to be perfect and the rider aiming to win needs to lead around the final extremely tight bend. Often it comes down to a sprint finish, but a good cobbling team can split the field in such a way that the sprinters uncomfortable on cobbles are unable to contest the final standings.

The one day race is a great spectacle with many smaller teams arriving on the big stage and the powerful and great old city, opening itself to the cycling world. The winner could go on to become a legend in the cycling world, but quite often, the cobbles will throw up an unexpected winner, whose moment in the spotlight will be well worth the effort of the day.